Autumn Statement: Osborne to attack Swiss accounts in £5 billion raid

George Osborne said we should expect to raise £5 billion over the next 6 years from undisclosed bank accounts in Switzerland belonging to UK residents.

Announcing the measures in the Autumn Statement, the chancellor also announced plans to exploring the abusive use of partnerships and pointed to a 70% rise in prosecutions under this government. In addition to a one-off levy relating to past tax evasion, the agreement provides for a withholding tax on future investment income and gains arising in Switzerland.

The Autumn Statement claims this development will represent one of the largest tax evasion settlements in UK history, marking a significant step forward in the battle against those seeking to evade UK tax. The government has also signed an agreement with the United States, which the Autumn Statement documentation claims is the first of its kind anywhere. This will significantly increase the amount of information on potentially taxable income automatically exchanged between the two countries, which the government hopes will set a new standard on tax transparency in order to tackle evasion. The government said it would look to conclude similar agreements with other jurisdictions.

The government is also seeking to claw back £2 billion by upping government supervision of tax avoidance, and wants to calm the heated public debate surrounding multi-nationals not paying their way.

The number of tax inspectors will be raised by 2,500 specifically to target those avoiding tax in a bid to claw back £2 billion.

Homes

But in terms of homes, there wil be no new tax on property, meaning that the Liberal Democrat's mansion tax proposal failed as expected.

Lifetime pensions allowance reduced from £50,000 to £40,000. Charlie Parker comments: 'Pension tax credit brought down 1.5 million to 1.25 million over a lifetime. Doesn't save much, £1 billion a year by 16/17.'

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